How To Make A Box Kite

Step-by-Step - Page 1 of 3

The MBK 1-Skewer Box

This set of instructions on how to make a Box kite assumes you know absolutely nothing about kite making. You might already have some
of the simple tools and materials required. Anything you don't have is
easily bought.

If not exactly what I used, then at least something
pretty similar!

The instructions on how to make a Box kite might look awfully long,
but each step is quite simple to do. Just quickly work your
way through, skimming over any detail that you don't need. All in all,
it should be quite hard to make a mistake!

The MBK 1-Skewer Box Kite is rather small at just 29cm (11 1/2")
long, with cell panels measuring 14.5cm x 8.7cm (5 3/4" x 3 1/2"). It will stay airborne in moderate winds, but does even better in
fresh winds.

Like all the other MBK 1-Skewer kites, this design can't be taken
apart for transport. However, that's not much of a problem due to it's
small size! Just be sure to treat it with care when handling or
transporting it.

How To Make A Box KiteFrame

Select 4 bamboo BBQ skewers that seem fairly straight. Check this by rolling them across a table top, one by one. Or just look down their length.

In addition, try to ensure that 2 of those skewers have very similar flexibility.
Either bend them by hand to try and judge this, or get a little more
ingenious by suspending the ends and putting a weight in the middle...
Getting this right will help the finished kite to fly straight without
needing too much tail. Put a mark on these 2 skewers so you know which
ones they are. They are the top 2 spars in the photo.

Snip the point off one skewer, then measure it to establish '1 skewer length' (1.0SL) for your kite. For me, this was 29 c.m.

Snip the points off the other 3 skewers, to exactly the same length
as the first one. These 4 skewers will now be referred to as the 'spars'

Take another 2 skewers, and snip one of them to exactly 0.7SL (20.3cm, 8") in length. Make the other one just 0.5cm (1/4") longer. These are the 'cross pieces'. The longer one will be trimmed to fit, later.

How To Make A Box KiteSail

The template up there represents one cell of the kite, laid out flat. Transfer the measurements to the sail plastic as follows...

Firstly, take a light, single-ply plastic bag and lay it flat on the
table. I use cheap orange garden-bags. The more expensive bags are
usually 2 or 3-ply plastic, which is heavier and less see-through.

Near one edge of the bag, measure and mark a rectangular outline according to the Template. Use a black marking pen and ruler.

Now measure and mark the fold lines. See the photo.

Flip the bag over, and trace over all the black lines. Use the ruler, of course!

Cut the bag down one side and open it out.

Cut around the 2 rectangular outlines with scissors. I don't
recommend trying to do both rectangles at once, since the plastic tends
to slip!

Arrange the 4 bamboo spars over the plastic as in the photo,
covering up the drawn fold-lines. Make sure the marked side-spars are
positioned as shown in the photo!

Tack down all 8 corners of the sails to the table top with small
square pieces of sticky tape. This stops unintended shifting of the
plastic while you are trying to...

Lay down 4 long lengths of clear sticky tape, securing the spars to
the plastic. The tape is just visible in the photo - look for where the
plastic is smoother and slightly darker, near the edges. Each tape goes
all the way from left to right, over the 4 spars.

Remove everything from the table top, either pulling off or trimming away the small square bits of tape at the corners.

Fold the sails, bringing the short edges together and sticking them with tape. The photo gets close-up on one of the 2 joins.

Now open the box kite out, and carefully lay down tape along the inside edges as well, to make the 2 joins even more secure. A bit tricky, take your time!

Risky but fun! Just had a fascinating little flight out on the side lawn, with the 2-Skewer Roller kite. About enough space for two people to swing one cat each out there, simultaneously. If you get m…

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